Search Ends For Missing Bounty Captain

The US Coast Guard said late Thursday that it ahs suspended its search for the missing captain of the HMS Bounty 200 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C.

Missing is Captain Robin Walbridge, 63.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Walbridge and Christian families,” said Capt. Doug Cameron, the chief of incident response for the Coast Guard 5th District. ”Suspending a search and rescue case is one of the hardest decisions we have to make.”

The 1962-built HMS Bounty replica sank during Hurricane Sandy in the Atlantic Ocean 90 off the the coast of Hatteras, N.C. Coast Guard crews were able to rescue 14 from a life raft. One crew member, Claudene Christian, went missing following the sinking and was later found by crews and pronounced dead at a hospital.